Why women make great PR professionals

On International Women’s Day, we delve into some of the innate traits women possess that make us great at public relations. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 66% of PR and fundraising professionals are females. I’ve experienced it. The PR agency where I previously worked was 95% women, and before that, I worked in-house corporate communications for a MNC where our team of about 15 had only 3 men.  Why is this?

While it may be tough to pinpoint, and there are plenty of exceptional male PR professionals, research and experience show a few main attributes more commonly found in women that make us ideal PR pros.

Empathy and emotional intelligence —> listening. Women are natural empaths, which makes us better listeners. I’m not making a generalization! The National Library of Medicine put out a study saying so, supported by plenty of research.  Listening helps us understand clients’ stories and synthesize them into clear and concise strategic messaging. It also helps us understand journalists’ needs so that we can deliver them relevant messaging and story angles that serve their audiences.

Teamwork and collaboration —> filling in gaps to get the job done. PR involves management across a variety of stakeholders – the client, graphic artists, ad buyers, journalists, and plenty more. While both women and men are great team players—and gender-balanced teams are preferable to homogenous ones— women are more likely than men to put their personal needs aside for the good of the collective, according to HBR. This is huge in a field involving so many moving parts.

We honor the many female trailblazers across the globe, and in our own neighborhoods, who are making their communities a better place. Thinking about the women who have made an impact in my life – family members, friends, teachers, mentors, colleagues, clients, bosses – I’m extremely grateful for their influence as women.